without trying something new!

My husband gifted me with a trip to Napa, California.  I've mentioned this in a couple of previous blog entries.

It was wondrous.  I learned that California weather is an odd duck.  The two days while I was there with him, the day time temps were between 65-70; and the nights dipped into the 30s!  I could handle the 30s.  I'm from the East Coast.

Our time was short, due to work and family responsibilities, so he had a plan.  He researched for almost two months before we went out.  So in two days we visited ten wineries.  Yes, I tried wines I never had dreamed of tasting and some that were not to my liking.

I learned how the taste of a wine can change after eating certain foods.  Then made an observation to my husband after a wine tasting along with a specially prepared luncheon, "One should not just sit down and order a bottle of wine.  One should order their meal, then chose a wine that will be enhanced by the food ordered."

For instance, the butter flavors of a Chardonnay mellowed after eating seared tuna.  I had always refused to even taste tuna prepared this way.  Why?  Would you eat raw fish?  I did, but because I felt obligated to try it.  I found I liked it.  But keep in mind it was served with greens and light dressing.   

Will I try it again, perhaps.  Perhaps not.  Have you tried something new as of late?

with a gallbladder!

If you have been following my blog, you might notice something about this entry's title that differs from others.  I used the word "with" instead of "without."

I had my gallbladder removed after giving birth to our second child.  During that pregnancy I had a gallbladder attack that I thought was a heart attack.  I was so scared.  Seven months pregnant and I couldn't think why I couldn't breathe.  (Side note:  Always seek medical attention if you have ANY complications at ANY point in your pregnancy... as NO two women or pregnancies are every the SAME!)

Over the years I have had to change my eating habits.  Fast food I soon discovered was never to pass my lips without a gallbladder.  Did you know that this little organ helps you digest the "grease/oil/fat" found in various foods?  I didn't then but sure do now; since I haven't had mine for 14 years.

I love bacon and sausage but have to be careful how much I eat and what type.  Same goes with beef.  Chicken and fish are much kinder to me.

Then there is condiments... Mayo I can use, but limited.  Same with some salad dressings.  Others don't seem to upset my delicate system.

But too much of the wrong ingredients, and well, I've found myself down-and-out-for-the-count for at most a day or two.  Then there have been times when I wished I could stay in bed, and had to re-group in a matter of an hour and drag my sorry butt out of bed.  Why?  Because I am a mom and Moms don't get a "sick day."  Only when/if dad is working from home do I get a "sick day."

So, why am I writing about my gallbladder... Because Sunday evening I made the "wrong food choice" and thankfully dad was home!

Without resolutions!

Yesterday I made a goal to write daily *again*.  Today, I’ve achieved that.  Tomorrow, I intend to continue.  On Wednesday, it may be hard but I will get up at the crack of dawn to fit it into the “old schedule” and perhaps make it a “new schedule.”  

Grab a cup of your favorite beverage and sit for five, maybe ten and read.  Better yet, drop me a comment and let me know if I should keep writing this blog. 

Now, onto the subject at hand resolutions!  Do you make them or not?  I reached a point in my life a few years ago when I just stopped making resolutions at the end of the year.  Sometimes, I make them day to day. 

For example, I stopped worrying about resolving to lose weight and started just eating better foods because consuming junk food leaves me feeling crappy.  I would rather feel happy and not bloated.  So I choose to eat better because I really do not like coming down from a “sugar high” or fall asleep mid-afternoon.  I have too much to enjoy… books to be read, kids to play board games with, recipes to try, and ohhh a blog to write daily!

To further stress this point, I had thrown out the scale five years ago, stopped weighing myself and in turn somehow lost 25 pounds.  Unfortunately, several family crises later, I gained it all back.  I’m still who I was before I lost the weight, after I lost it, and when I regained it.  Perhaps I was meant to weigh what I do.

Then there are the moments we resolve to be more organized, when I have had enough and clean up small areas of our home.  We all have them.  The walk-in-closet no one sees.  Or the spare room, that has become the store everything you can’t live without but really don’t use anymore.  And finally, worst of all either an attic or basement where we put the holiday decorations, seasonal cloths and camping/sports equipment.

A year ago I cleaned out my half of the walk-in-closet and stopped wondering *if* I could fit back into several outfits I wore when I was first marriage.  For those who don’t know I’ve been marriage more than twenty years and have three sons.  The oldest is old enough to *gasp* drive now.  I rearranged what cloths I kept by color.  Being a creative person I guess is what made me organize my clothes like a rainbow.  It has been a huge relief, when in a pinch, to go into my closet and be able to just grab an outfit in less than a minute compared to several. 

This week, I cleaned out two linen closets.  I found we have eight sets of twin sheets and only one kid is sleeping in a twin bed presently.  However, come summer when it’s time to go to Boy Scout Summer Camp I will know where all the twin size mattress pads and sheets sets are.  But the rest of us sleep on a full, queen or king size bed.  There were only three extra sets of sheets for king and one for the queen.  I’m missing an extra set for the full.  I filled a garbage bag full of old linens that were not even fit for our dogs to use for bedding.  I found stash of pillow cases I didn’t know we had too.  Best of all I filled a medium size shopping bag with plan cotton sheet sets we don’t use and plan to donate them.

Do you make resolutions? Goals? Promises?  Or do you just live day to day?

Without writer's block!

Normally I sit down and something during my long days has been the inspiration for my blog posts. Although, probably by the time I finish this post I would rename the title "Without rambling!"

Well let's see I could write about the vanilla cupcakes with vanilla and chocolate frosting I bought today at a church bake sale. They weren't plain vanilla cupcakes--they were lemon flavor and frosted with lemon frosting AND vanilla cupcakes with sprinkles in the batter frosted with chocolate frosting. How did I find out? One of the kids tried one of each and was sadly disappointed.

Or I could write about how I dislike finding a great movie and then having to suffer through the unusual-not-necessary-needed-item info-commercials and trailers for how-did-they-get-someone-to-buy-such-a-horrendous-idea-and-make-it-into-a-movie. So CHEESY some of them are--It's a wonder I can sit through them to watch the movies I love!

Or I could write about the fact that I am extremely but slowly making progress around the house... I did manage to clean out two cupboards. It's a start! And every time I open them to grab something--I stop, admire my hard work and SMILE!

Or I could write about laundry, yeah, I'm still knee-deep in dirty clothes! I want to know who boosted their reproductiveness--oh that's easy that would be my family and the pups. Perhaps the weather too!
Someday, I'll catch up.

Speaking of weather, oh my gosh... we received a cold blast of arctic freezing winds. So the snow we received--yeah we got yet another dusting--it's frozen and crunchy. But this too will pass, and melt again... the temperature is going up oh 40 or 50 degrees in a week's time.

So next Sunday, when I sit down to write I should have ample material... I mean there is always something the pups or the kids have done to supply me with a long list of topics, right? Right!

Without energetic pups!

We recently had our roof replaced. One of the stipulations of the contract was to keep all pets and children indoors and away from the workers.

Keeping our children out of harms way was the easy part--they were at school for the majority of the time frame the roofers ripped off the old shingles and installed the new roof.

However, the pups were a different challenge. Red is a curious dog, she loves to explore counter tops and tables. She steals socks, whole tissue boxes, head sets, ace bandages, baggies of food or anything else she deems interesting. For instance, a terra cotta flower pot one of the kids had decorated to look like a bunny. Red's curiosity got the better of her and she snagged it off the counter. She grabbed the fuzzy-ball-tail and it smashed into several pieces.

The loud noises that the roofers were making drew Red to the windows in the kitchen. She tried to peak under the pull shades covering the windows. I raised them slightly giving her able view of the backyard. Red bark a few times at the workers. Probably telling them, "Hey, I'm in here and I'm watching you." Maeve on the other hand headed to her kennel with ball in mouth and curled up. She was content to just hang in there.

After scolding the workers, Red decided to pester Maeve. Into the Maeve's kennel Red lumbered in and started to poke at Maeve with her snout. Maeve got up and came out. They wrestled over the ball some, then Maeve decided she had enough but this time headed into Red's kennel.

Then a most unusual thing occurred (ok, in my humble opinion)... Red gently pushed her own kennel door shut with her nose, while Maeve was still in the kennel. I began to laugh hysterically until my ribs hurt. Maeve didn't take kindly to her sister shutting her in a kennel, she jumped and came out ready for another round of wrestling on the kitchen floor.

Just watching them have fun made me forget about the constant banging for a few moments...

Without starting over... *again*

How many of you make the same resolutions every year on New Year's Eve?

Well I fell for it again and made all those resolutions about exercising more, eating better, writing daily blogs and/or posts, reading for the pure enjoyment of it, and of course purging then organizing every room in the house.

*sigh*

It's February 1st and it doesn't seem I made very much progress.

I've been walking now and again; because Old Man Winter has taken a vacation from visiting the east coast this year. But I could still exercise more.

I've been eating better, more wheat less white; and more fruits and vegetables less sugary sweats. But I guess I could eat smaller portions.

I've thought about blogging and I have posted to my FB page now and again. But I'd like to craft articles and perhaps a story or two and share it with others on my blog.

I've been reading books when time permits by Lynn Kurland and Amelia Grey. And when it doesn't I've started to listen to audio books too! But just last week I listened to Dogs and Goddesses by Jennifer Crusie, Anne Stuart and Lani Diane Rich.

I do have one closet 50% purged and organized! *Yeah ME!* But there is still 99% of the house that needs to be purged and organized... There is no time like the now to get started... it's never too late!

Where's your New Year's Resolution List... is it under a pile of to do's? Or is it posted on a cork board with check marks? What's left on your list?